Pope John I of Alexandria

Coptic Pope John I (450-29 April 505) was Coptic pope from 496 to 505, succeeding Coptic Pope Athanasius II and preceding Coptic Pope John II.

Biography
Yohannes was born in 450 in Alexandria, Aegyptus, Byzantine Empire to a Christian family. He became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in the Nitrian Desert of Lower Egypt, but on 29 September 496 he was consecrated Coptic pope against his will when Coptic Pope Athanasius II died. He was the first pope to be chosen from the desert monks instead of the Alexandrian learned clergy, and he held communion with people who accepted Emperor Zeno of Byzantium's Henotikon, defying the Council of Chalcedon. He kept the church in peace, and he died in 505.